Daniel Martin of Ireland crosses the finish line ahead of Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark, rear, to win the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 168.5 kilometers (105.3 miles) with start in Saint-Girons and finish in Bagneres-de-Bigorre, Pyrenees region, France, Sunday July 7 2013. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)
/ AP

BAGNERES-DE-BIGORRE, France 
Left alone and with his teammates far behind, Chris Froome held off repeated attacks to retain the Tour de France lead Sunday as the three-week race left the Pyrenees mountains.

Dan Martin of Ireland, a 26-year-old Garmin-Sharp rider, won Stage 9 following a two-man sprint against Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang after they escaped Froome and the other pre-race favorites on the last of five tough climbs along the 105-mile trek from Saint-Girons to Bagneres-de-Bigorre in southwest France.

As the race neared its first rest day Monday, Froome was relieved he was able to quash four attacks by Movistar's Nairo Quintana on the last climb - la Hourquette d'Ancizan - despite his Sky teammates lagging behind. They were worn out after a strong team effort to help him win the yellow jersey a day earlier.

"That was one of the hardest days I've ever had on a bike," Froome said. "I'm really happy with how I came through today ... It's not easy to follow Quintana in the climbs. He's a light little Colombian who can fly up hills - so to cover his attacks definitely wasn't easy."

"But yeah, I was quite ready for more attacks, and I'm quite glad there weren't," he said, adding that it was "quite understandable" that his teammates weren't with him after Saturday's effort.

The Briton kept an eye on his top rivals to win the title in Paris on July 21, including Spaniard pair Alberto Contador, of the Saxo Bank team, and Alejandro Valverde - one of five Movistar riders in the front bunch of about two dozen riders.

The Briton was content to let Martin and Fuglsang go ahead, and fight for the stage win. After a brief cat-and-mouse game, Martin wheeled around the Dane before the final bend with about 150 meters to go and held on for his first Tour stage win. Martin is the nephew of 1987 Tour champion Stephen Roche and a cousin of fellow cyclist Nicolas Roche.

"I was confident in the final stretch because I know I have some speed," Martin said, adding he was lucky to have Astana's Fuglsang with him to share the work of holding off the favorites. "I knew I had to be ahead in the last two corners and, when I saw that I was, I knew I could win."

Froome's closest challenger is Valverde, who is 1:25 behind. Contador is sixth overall and trails by 1:51. Martin is eighth, 2:28 back.

Froome captured the yellow jersey Saturday by launching a devastating attack in the final climb to win Stage 8, thanks in large part to a strong escort from Sky - including Porte, who was second in that stage.